Darren Gough
Darren Gough
Born: 18 September 1970, Monk Bretton, Barnsley, Yorkshire
Major Teams: Yorkshire, England.
Known As: Darren Gough
Pronounced: Darren Gough
Batting Style: Right Hand Bat
Bowling Style: Right Arm Fast
Test Debut: England v New Zealand at Manchester, 3rd Test, 1994
Latest Test: England v Australia at The Oval, 5th Test, 2001
ODI Debut: England v New Zealand at Birmingham, Texaco Trophy, 1994
Latest ODI: England v India at Lord's, NatWest Series, 2002
Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1999

Career Statistics:
TESTS
(including 23/08/2001)
M I NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 56 83 18 806 65 12.40 42.89 0 2 12 0
O M R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 1917.1 360 6288 228 27.57 6-42 9 0 50.4 3.27
ONE-DAY INTERNATIONALS
(including 13/07/2002)
M I NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 111 71 29 455 45 10.83 62.24 0 0 17 0
O M R W Ave BBI 4w 5w SR Econ
Bowling 1015.1 84 4380 174 25.17 5-44 7 2 35.0 4.31
FIRST-CLASS
(1989 - 2002)
M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 193 260 50 3379 121 16.09 1 12 41 0
O R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 5878.4 18712 707 26.46 7-28 27 3 49.8 3.18
LIST A LIMITED OVERS
(1990 - 2002)
M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 296 178 56 1555 72* 12.74 0 1 52 0
O R W Ave BBI 4w 5w SR Econ
Bowling 2509.2 10322 430 24.00 7-27 15 7 35.0 4.11
- Explanations of First-Class and List A status courtesy of the ACS.
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Profile:
Barnsley-born fast bowler Darren Gough made his first-class
debut in 1989 having joined Yorkshire on a Youth Training Scheme two years
previously. He took five wickets in his first match (at Lord's) and won
selection on the England Young Cricketers to the West Indies tour of
1989-90. His progress slowed after that and it was not until late 1992 that
Richie Richardson, Yorkshire's overseas player at the time, helped Gough to
realise his potential by advising him to concentrate on speed. In 1993 Gough
won his county cap, impressing with displays of pace and aggression typified
by the match figures of 10-96 he took against Somerset at Taunton. He won a
place on that winter's A tour to South Africa, where he was the second top
wicket-taker and showed a willingness to learn and work hard. 5-81 in the
"Test" also illustrated a welcome ability to rise to the big occasion.
Gough made an immediate impression on the international scene the
following summer, bowling with hostility and taking the wicket of Martin
Crowe in his first over of one-day international cricket. He followed this
by dismissing Mark Greatbatch with the last ball of his first over in Test
cricket, although due to injury he had been forced to wait for his debut
(the Third Test at Old Trafford) to finish with 4-47 and six wickets in the
match. His batting showed promise early on, but his first Test innings (65
against New Zealand at Old Trafford) remains his highest score. A useful 42*
at The Oval against South Africa, in partnership with Philip DeFreitas,
helped turn the match England's way later on that same summer. His bright
start continued in Australia. 6-65 and a flamboyant 51 at Sydney almost took
England to victory, but after 20 wickets in three Tests he was diagnosed
with a broken foot and had to return home. Recovery took a while, and he
managed only three Tests against the West Indies the following summer,
though he did take a first-class hat-trick against Kent, and 7-28 against
Lancashire. His batting form also began to deteriorate as bowlers tested his
technique with a barrage of short balls.
Gough failed to take a Test wicket on the tour of South Africa (1995-96),
and did not feature in the Tests the following English domestic season.
Consolation came in the form of a career best 121 against Warwickshire at
Leeds in 1996 and the Whyte and Mackay Bowler of the Year award. It wasn't
really until the Australians arrived in England for the Ashes series of 1997
that he returned to somewhere near top form, taking 16 wickets in four
Tests. But then injury again intervened, preventing him from touring the
West Indies in 1997-98. He came back well the next summer to help England
clinch the series against South Africa. He also won the England Player of
the Series award in the one-day series. Although England were subsequently
outplayed in Australia, Gough performed well. At Sydney, in January 1999, he
became the first English bowler to take an Ashes hat-trick since J. Hearne,
at Leeds, in 1899. He was one of Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Year in
1999.
Gough's wholehearted approach and obvious commitment to the cause have
made him a firm favourite. He always appears to enjoy his cricket. An
ever-more muscular physique increased his pace despite his relative lack of
height (5'11"), and earned him the nickname "Rhino." He also acquired an
excellent in-swinging Yorker, and a cleverly disguised slower-ball, often an
off-spinner, making him a dangerous proposition on even the flattest of
pitches, and one of the premier one-day bowlers in the world. His new-ball
partnership with Andy Caddick was a significant factor in the revival of the
national team under Nasser Hussain, as they formed arguably England's most
potent pair since Botham and Willis. The arrival of Duncan Fletcher as England coach saw a gradual improvement in
Gough's batting too. His staunch efforts at Lord's (against the West Indies)
and Karachi were crucial to the side's eventual victories.
At the start of the 2000 season, Gough became one of the first ECB
centrally-contracted players. As a result he managed only three first-class
games for Yorkshire in the season, but the benefits for England were obvious
as he stayed injury-free throughout a triumphant summer. A minority of
supporters were upset by his lack of appearances, and by his decision to
move his family home from Yorkshire to Buckinghamshire. Man of the Series as
England beat West Indies for the first time in 31 years during the summer of
2000 (he took 25 wickets at 21.20), and Cornhill Player of the Year for
1999, he also played a crucial role as England beat Pakistan away for the
first time since 1961-62 with 10 wickets on the unforgiving, flat tracks.
This was the best return from a seamer and contrasted with hauls of two and
three each for the series from Wasim Akram and Andy Caddick respectively. He
repeated his energetic efforts on the spinners' tracks in Sri Lanka and was
instrumental in England's series victory when he picked up 13 wickets in
their Second and Third Test victories. He was nominated player of the
series.
The summer of 2001 started well for Gough as he captured 14 wickets in
the drawn two-match series against Pakistan. But the Australians were just
around the corner and they made him work hard for his wickets. He still
ended up as England's leading wicket-taker with 17 but they came at a cost
of 38.64 apiece and he picked up just one 'five-for' in England's only win
of the series at Headingley. At the end of the summer he had taken 228 Test
match wickets, putting him seventh on the list of England's highest
wicket-takers.
Gough surprised many by announcing at the end of the Ashes series that he
would not be available for the winter tour to India, but would be happy to
go to New Zealand. However, the selectors made it clear that players had to
make themselves available for either both or neither, so Gough had most of
the winter off. He did, however, play in the one-day series in India and New
Zealand, and was England's leading wicket-taker in both. It was in New
Zealand that he sustained the knee injury which all but wrecked his English
summer. It required three operations, and although Gough played five games
in the one-day triangular series, he broke down again soon afterwards and by
the end of the season had not played Test cricket for more than a year. A
calculated gamble by England's selectors in including him in the Ashes squad
backfired when he was forced to return home without taking the field. Ruled
out of the Ashes series and the World Cup, he admitted that he was running
out of both time and options.
Gough was a talented footballer in his youth and had trials with
Rotherham United. (Copyright CricInfo November 2002)
Last Updated: Sunday, 10-Nov-2002 07:07:39 GMT
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